A Survival Guide For Watching the 2014 FIFA World Cup

The 2014 FIFA World Cup will kick off tomorrow with Brazil taking on Croatia at the Estadio do Maracana in Rio de Janeiro. And if you don't know who Neymar and Luka Modric are at this point, then there's probably no point in reading any group breakdown, or tactical analysis of how teams will approach their respective matches. However, this doesn't mean that all hope is lost in your quest to know what the hell is going on for the next month that's got everyone from your next door neighbor to foreign dignitaries glued to the television. Every four years 32 teams compete to be crowned the king of the soccer world, and there's no reason that you or any of your soccer-challenged friends need to spend another tournament on the outside looking in.

Maybe you just got into the sport, which was definitely a good year for that, or maybe you've always wanted to take an interest but were embarrassed at not knowing the difference between a hand ball and a throw in. It doesn't matter. That's all in the past. We're tired of you missing out on one of the greatest events on the planet, and this year we're doing something about it. Analyzing facts, scrutinizing key matchups, and looking for breakout performers are certainly important, but right now we're just going to hit you with what you need to know to enjoy the tournament. From a few big names you'll want to see to what not to wear to the bar, check out our Survival Guide For Watching the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Written by Adam Silvers (@silversurfer103)

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The best teams that will compete in Brazil, in no particular order, are Spain, Germany, Argentina, and of course, Brazil. Got it? Good. Now, the next thing to know going into the tournament is who the best players are, because that's who will be dominating the story lines both on an off the field. For us, the three best attacking players in the world are Lionel Messi of Argentina, Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal, and Luis Suarez of Uruguay. Messi, who plays his club soccer for Barcelona in Spain, has widely been regarded as the best player in the game over the past few years. He's scored 124 league goals in Spain over the past three seasons, and was also hailed as the best player in the world by FIFA from 2009-12. But as prolific as Messi has been for club, he's yet to put it together on the international stage. He failed to score at the last World Cup in 2010, in which Argentina exited in the quarters at the hands of Germany, and this tournament is largely being viewed as Messi's do-or-die moment with Argentina.

Scoring 31 league goals and winning the Champions League with Real Madrid, Cristiano Ronaldo was set to enter this World Cup as the hottest player on the planet. And while that still might be the case, Ronaldo is currently dealing with both tendinitis and a muscle injury in his left leg. Still, Portugal wouldn't even be in Brazil were it not for CR's heroics. The Madrid man scored four times in a two-legged playoff against Sweden just to place Portugal among the 32 finalists. Will a less than 100-percent-fit Ronaldo be able to guide Portugal out of the group stage?

Lastly, we come to Liverpool and Uruguay's Luis Suarez. Suarez tied a Premier League (England's top division) scoring record with 31 goals in 33 league matches this season, none of which came from the penalty spot. While he's been maligned in previous seasons for racism, diving, and biting-yes, biting-Suarez is a footballing genius, who is coming off his best season to date in multiple ways. He guided Liverpool to a second place finish in the league, and perhaps more importantly, a return to next season's Champions League (Europe's greatest club competition). Uruguay will feel at home playing in South America, and his strike partnership with Paris Saint-Germain's Edinson Cavani could prove lethal.

Offsides in soccer is as simple as it is complicated. The technical definition as outlined by FIFA in Law 11 reads as follows: A player is in an offside position if he is nearer to his opponents' goal line than both the ball and the second-last opponent. A player is not in an offside position if he is in his own half of the field of play or he is level with the second-last opponent or he is level with the last two opponents.

Don't freak out. Basically, an attacking player must be level with, or behind the last defender before a ball is played through to him, or else the linesman will raise his flag to signal offside. The only time an attacking player who is ahead of the last defender is onside is either on a throw in, or if the defender is attempting to pass back to his own goalie. A team gets a throw in when the ball goes out of play off the other team, and a player cannot be in an offside position on a throw under any circumstance. The tricky part comes in the judgment of offside. Sometimes an attacking player's feet will be behind the last defender, but his shoulder or hips will be in front. It's a certain subjectivity you get the hang of the more you watch, and even then, sometimes replay can be inconclusive. Linesmen should give the benefit of the doubt to the attacker, but this is never always the case.

You'll hear the term "formation" thrown around a lot by fans and analysts of the game. The first thing to remember is that the term itself simply refers to how the 10 position players on a team will lineup on the field, at least to start. The 11th player of course is the goalie, who is not considered when naming and analyzing a formation. The basic formation is called a 4-4-2. This consists of four defenders at the back, four midfielders across, and two attacking players up front. However, this is far from the most commonly used formation in today's game.

Today you are looking at 4-5-1, 4-3-3, 4-2-3-1. and a 4-3-3 with an emphasis on the midfield "diamond". On paper, there doesn't seem to be much difference in how these lineups appear, and it's not worth your time to start reading into the pragmatic use behind employing each formation. What you should understand is that there is a method and a basic shape to how a team will lineup, and that some formations place a greater emphasis on attack versus defense, and vice versa. To understand and enjoy the game better, try to watch players in a position rather than just their performance.

It's fun to watch the games and just enjoy the play on the field, but it makes the World Cup that much more fun to actually know how it works. Let's start from the beginning. There are 32 teams (we'll explain how they got there later) divided into eight groups of four (A-H), and during the first round of the tournament, known as group play, each team will play each other member of their group once. Every team is guaranteed three matches. In group play you get three points for a win, one for a draw, and none for a loss. Yes, in the opening round a match can end in a tie if the score is level after 90 minutes plus stoppage time.

Now, based on points accumulated during those three matches, the top two teams from each group will move on to the knockout phase, which is highlighted in the picture above. The top team in Group A will play the second team in Group B, while the second team in Group A will play the top team in Group B. This is how it will go with Groups C and D, E and F, G and H. At this point in the tournament, a match can no longer end in a tie. If the score is tied after 90 minutes plus stoppage time, then the two teams will play two 15-minute halves with no sudden-death winner. If the score still remains tied after that, then the match will be decided by penalties. This is how it works from the Round of 16 through the Final in Rio de Janeiro on July 13.

Another important note is that for the first time ever, the FIFA World Cup will be using goal-line technology as the final decider as to whether or not the whole ball has crossed the line for a goal.

So you know Brazil is something of a Mecca for soccer, but that's not why they're hosting the World Cup this summer. Similar to the Olympics, countries bid in order to host the World Cup. And just like the IOC (International Olympic Committee), FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association) is the governing body that has the final decision on where the tournament is held every four years. The decision is made years before the actual tournament takes place, in order to allow for stadium construction and strategic planning to host a month-long tournament. Twelve cities throughout Brazil will host the 64 matches, with the final taking place in the revamped Maracana Stadium in Rio on July 13. The 2018 World Cup will take place in Russia, and despite the recent cloud of corruption surrounding it, the 2022 World Cup is still slated to take place in Qatar.

Yes, it's called the World Cup. No, that doesn't mean every nation known to man gets to play in Brazil this summer. Aside from the host nation, Brazil in this case, gaining automatic entry into the tournament, the other 31 nations must go through the qualification process. Qualification for the 2014 FIFA World Cup begin in June of 2011, and ended in November of 2013. Over 200 teams spread across six FIFA confederations, which are broken down geographically, competed in 820 matches to find out who the final 31 teams would be to join Brazil in the World Cup.

Now that you know how the final 32 teams are selected, it's key to know a few story lines for this particular tournament. First of all, France and Portugal are lucky to be in the tournament at all. Both squads had to win a two-legged playoff just to qualify, and without Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal would probably be at home watching come Thursday. Portugal's victory also meant that Sweden, and one of the world's best strikers in Zlatan Ibrahimovic, wouldn't be among the 32 finalists to compete for the ultimate prize. So when someone makes a reference to Ibra being absent from the tournament, you know it's pretty much because Ronaldo was responsible.